Picking Napoleon’s Gloves

The horse snorted and feigned tiredness but Napoleon egged her on. The battle had been long and weary but ride they must, if they would reach the safe point before dusk then ride they must.

As they rode, Napoleon suddenly stopped the horse and dropped his pair of gloves in a deliberate manner. The whole infantry stopped in its tracks. Napoleon’s Chief of Staff came down from his horse and picked the pair of gloves and handed them back to Napoleon. Murmurings stirred through the ranks as men pondered what they had just witnessed. An order was given and the march resumed until they reached the safe point.

The next morning Napoleon called his Chief of Staff and told him to drop their heavy cannons on the spot he had dropped his gloves the day before. “I have done so already sir” was the Chief of Staff’s reply. On hearing this, Napoleon was so pleased, he promptly promoted him for anticipating his command.

This is a slightly embellished true story J but the kernel of truth under girding the story remains relevant. The ability to read the mind of significant others is something that is very rare. It takes a certain level of detachment from our own issues to do it successfully.

It comes from an unselfish heart and attentive eyes/ears. If you don’t take the time to find out what someone likes (your boss, your friend, your wife, your God) you will find out that you will do things for them that they either don’t appreciate or barely notice. The ‘Wow effect’ comes from doing things that strike at the unspoken desires of people.

They want to have something but can’t say it, they want to do something but don’t have the means, and they need to go somewhere but can’t go there themselves. These and many of such situations provide the circumstances for you to ‘pick Napoleons gloves’. The kind of WoW! You will receive tends to lift the spirit more than money can ever do.

The act in itself becomes a memorial to devotion and friendship that can speak for you in future. I recall once observing my then boss go through a short financial dry patch. A millionaire without a doubt was suddenly in need of a few thousand naira to go and do a studio recording! At the time I had the good fortune of receiving payment for a debt owed me. I got to work the next day and gave my boss the money he needed to go to the studio.

He was shell-shocked! To me it was no-biggie but to him it was as if I had voted for his dreams to come true. He took the money and prayed some prayers that ‘change destiny’(as my mum would say) into my life. Without a doubt, those were not empty words for they were backed with all the gratitude and singularity of purpose that has made this man I speak of a worldwide success.

Herein lies the thrust of this message: that the act means so much to the receiver but may not really matter to the giver. This is what separates the boys from the men because many people only love to do what brings them pleasure. If they don’t like going fishing for example, they won’t give you a fishing trip even though that’s what you want.

It takes an unselfish heart to bring pleasure to others when the act may not necessarily bring you pleasure. Like everything in life, unselfishness can be learned. It doesn’t come easy because its not natural to be unselfish.

It’s a muscle that can be built when exercised over time but has its own rewards. In my case I not only got a prayer, I got a raise! Now you know what to do to get your next promotion, hit the ground runningJ!